Get To Know The Story Behind Our Third Cover

They say three times is a charm, so we’re pleased to present the cover of our third issue, which features halfpipe highest air world record holder Joffrey Pollet-Villard taking it to the streets as shot by Maxime Ramoul. Inside Issue 3 you’ll find our 2016 Accessory Guide, Mack Jones & Rob Heule interviewing each other as each other (you’ll see what we mean) about their Ski The North trip, an exploratory feature on Reuben Krabbe & Leah Scheitel investigating skiing’s passionate characters and culture in Saskatchewan, interviews with Tatum Monod, Yuki Tsubota and the cover star, and almost as much fun as you’re having now that winter is here. Look for it in ski shops and on major newsstands across The Great White North next week, and read below for a behind the scenes look at the cover shot.

There's a lot going on in the photo that made the cover of our third issue. There's graffiti, there's multiple levels of building and then there's Joffrey flying towards a concrete wall. To help us make sense of it all, we reached out to Joff and Maxime via email to get the scoop on the photo. 

Joffrey Pollet-Villard 

What’s the story behind this shot? It was shot in Saint Hilaire, a place pretty well known here in France for many options of street riding. It’s an old hospital that closed down a while ago; everything is destroyed or needs to be more destroyed until its own death. You can find this spot in many ski and snowboard movies, but never ridden the same way. I went there on December 31, 2014 with David Bonneville, Maxime Formier and Maxime Ramoul to get the last shots before a good new year of resolutions and healthy stuff. I went there for the texture and noise that can be a bit missing in the halfpipe, the feeling that you're landing on something you should not. This is what I like about street.

You’re responsible for some of the graffiti in the shot. Which tags are yours? And tell our readers which tags of yours were Photoshopped out.  Yeah [laughs]. I made that graffiti of Slayer cause I'm a big fan of the band and just wanted to throw that on the wall. It was not to make the picture or spot better, I just wanted to do it. And yeah, you photoshopped the picture to remove the Pentagram and Satan tags.

Are you bummed about us having to Photoshop those out? Yeah. Why would you remove that? I like pictures that aren’t retouched—raw stuff. [We had to remove the Pentagram and Satan tags because our friends on the newsstands wouldn’t be too stoked about them. —The Editors]

Have you been working on your tags over the summer? Tagging a spot then getting a shot should be your signature move in the future. Nope. Not at all. I went out to that spot with sprayers because I wanted to come and leave a mark with more than just my skis. But I like to draw, so maybe I'll leave more marks in the future.

Maxime Ramoul 

This isn’t just your first cover, but the first time you’ve had photos published. What’s next? An exhibition at The Louvre? Well, I don’t want to know what’s next. That way the surprise will be better.

As the photographer, what drew you to you this spot? This spot is naturally attractive for taking pictures, as there’s a creepy ambiance. All is destroyed with tags everywhere, and when you have a guy like Joff dropping something massive, it’s not so hard to bring back a good frame.

Joff’s tags almost gutted this photo’s chance at becoming our cover. Are you going to let him bring spray paint the next time you shoot? I like the way he invests in every spot he rides. For this one, he marked the spot twice: with the trick and with his tag. And it’s part of the little hidden secrets about the photo that only you and the subject know. It brings something more to the good memories.